<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>an inviolate engine of cosmic punishment by ogenkiyuki</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27121613">an inviolate engine of cosmic punishment</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ogenkiyuki/pseuds/ogenkiyuki'>ogenkiyuki</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Canon Continuation, Gen, Kindred Spirits, More characters will be added as we go on, Multi, Nonbinary Hange Zoë, Other, Rating May Change, levihan - Freeform, well not really we don't know the end yet but</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 18:21:08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,287</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27121613</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ogenkiyuki/pseuds/ogenkiyuki</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>There's a missing piece in Levi's life, and for a long time, only his vivid dreams could fill that void.</p><p>(Reincarnation AU)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Levi/Hange Zoë</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>55</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>an inviolate engine of cosmic punishment</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hi! So this is the fic I've been mulling to post after I've made a <a href="https://tsookie.co.vu/post/628794389017346048/stranger-part-1-part-2-snk-levihan-post">lazy comic</a> in tumblr. I've sort of switched the premise a bit. Forgive me since it has been a while since I've posted something in here &gt;.&lt;</p><p>Title based on the quote by Vera Nazarian on The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration:</p><p>"Karma is not an inviolate engine of cosmic punishment. Rather, it is a neutral sequence of acts, results, and consequences. Receiving misfortune does not necessarily indicate that one has committed evil. But it is a sufficient indicator of something else. And that something else can be anything, as long as it is a logical consequence of what has come before."</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p> </p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>***</p>
</div><p>Levi closed his eyes, and it didn't take too long for the world to shift around him.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
That night, he was back in the domain of scarlet and gold, of blood and fire, where the tremors under his feet didn't seem to stop. He had lost count of the times he had to go through the whole ordeal, and dread always loomed overhead as if it was a close friend. The air was thick of fear and death, and as far the horizon stretched, destruction would indiscriminately push forward to where he stood.<br/>
<br/>
His mother always told him that their blood has been blessed by some obscure deities from the lost millennia as the keepers of history, the most loyal kinds, and that they were given the power of <em>choice</em> in their present lifetimes to regain what they had lost. Obviously, no kid would ever understand it at first; then the eve of his thirteenth birthday came, and whatever oddities he had been told were confirmed one by one. Ever since, he had been dreaming of people and their lives way before even before they met: from his unruly uncle and closest friends, to his trusted colleagues, to his past and present commandant.<br/>
<br/>
All of them... except for one.<br/>
<br/>
It was probably the universe's main logic on why he found himself repeatedly on the dreaded day of reckoning from ages past. It was just that every time his hallucinatory realm was about to be rendered asunder, a lonesome figure would show up to guide him back to the kinder reality he was reborn into. His imaginary savior. His personal beacon lighting the way home. An experience, he realized, that was simultaneously familiar and foreign to him.<br/>
<br/>
Levi considered himself to be a very capable man who employed the help of others only if it was extremely necessary. In fact, he had been working for a private investigation firm for years on end that enabled him to see the worst in people. He built up a reputation that his juniors say even the tallest mountains coming to life would not faze him. Not too different from his old self, who appeared to be even more skilled. Not that he knew anything else aside from what his nightly visions showed him, but he was aware that the folks of yore considered him to be the <em>strongest</em> in some of his recollections (which he heavily disliked because it was such a burden).<br/>
<br/>
But then again none of that hardly matters. He would always be the worn-down version, the crippled and half-blind captain, in his most frequent dreams. Ironic it may seem, but it was only through recurring nightmares did he come to know his greatest fear: helplessness. Certainly, it was a trepidation that resonated beyond time.<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>His current trance made sure to highlight that flaw; the titans—what they used to call the monstrosities that flattened the earth—were probably a few villages away from where he was, so close that his lungs were filled with the smell of burning flesh. However, he was frail and badly injured in this dimension; any attempt to physically escape was useless. Levi could do nothing else but to resort to what he normally does to get out of the illusory torment. He sits and waits. And waits. Patiently. Steadfastly. Even as the rumbling in the distance seemed to quicken, he would keep himself rooted, for he knew <em>that person</em> would come. Besides, he always had something to tell them, anyway. Not that he succeeded in any of his previous attempts, but he thought it was worth trying.<br/>
<br/>
"I'm sorry I'm late." <br/>
<br/>
The voice quietly echoed in his ears to shake him out of stupor. A few moments later, a silhouette sprouted from the pillars of smoke that were dancing in his peripheral.<br/>
<br/>
<em>They're finally here.</em> Levi eagerly craned his neck towards the movements’ direction which made it impossible for him to miss the harrowingly melancholic smile the stranger bore. Their ardent gazes met and locked. The russet stare that burned on his face stood out from the withering landscape, and Levi realized, it was glossy from tears brimming but kept unshed. The thorns got lodged a bit deeper in his chest, and for a second he struggled how to breathe.<br/>
<br/>
"Hey, come with me." He started to bargain when he recovered, an uncompromised hand breaching the distance but only ever catching wisps of dust. “Aren't you tired of this? I can still see you in my other memories. Let this one go.”<br/>
<br/>
“You don’t understand, do you?” They shook their head and subtly backed away. “Think of why <em>you</em> keep coming back to this point in time.”<br/>
<br/>
It wasn’t like he could choose what scenarios would play in his mind, nor hand-pick the people he would want to see. He just… <em>gravitated</em> towards them. Unequivocally. All the time. That wasn't enough of a reason though. “I guess I don’t.”<br/>
<br/>
“Then I can’t come with you.” It was the other’s turn to reach out; their palms laid gently on both sides of his face, thumbs soothing the superficial wounds he had. Even with the bandages, he could feel the comforting heat of their touch, eventually lulling him until his lids were heavy. Their faces drew closer until they were held apart by a whisper, and that's when his companion spoke again.<br/>
<br/>
"For now, it’s time to wake up.”<br/>
<br/>
“Stop, I don’t want to—” <br/>
<br/>
The unfinished protest was futile. The invisible force was back to envelope him, yanking him free from the other’s touch. It was the catalyst for the end of his trance, and as it always did, it made his body plummet <em>through</em> the ground, into an unperceivably long stretch of darkness. He fell and fell, until his entire frame jolted when it hit something adequately soft with a thump—his bed in the real world—and just like that he was back into the confines of his cold and empty room, with nothing but his sweat-drenched sheets to keep him company.</p><p> </p><p>Levi fixated his eyes on the ceiling, absentmindedly tracing how the shadows from outside speckled the pristine white paint while his pulse drummed against his ears. The spots where his savior touched his flesh were still warm, but he couldn't decide on how pleasant it was because he was so weary that he felt a hundred times heavier.<br/>
<br/>
<em>Fucking hell.</em> His breaths were exaggeratedly deep in exasperation. No matter how hard he tried, he still couldn't save the person in his dreams.<br/>
<br/>
No words could describe precisely how frustrating it was to experience it over and over without being able to do any sensible thing. Not to mention, with every occurrence, the lines between his feelings and whatever the captain had crisscrossed and intermingled in so many ways he couldn’t keep track of—admittedly, he was getting too attached for his own good, to someone he hadn’t even met yet. <br/>
<br/>
A blessing? <em>What a joke.</em> It must be a punishment exclusive to him for being a jerk in his old life.<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>Pray tell, how could it be a gift, when the most he could do for the past month was wake up with a broken heart?<br/>
<br/>
</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>“Sweetie, your tea is getting cold.”<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>Kuchel pushed the small cup of black brew towards him, his favorite, and the sound of porcelain scratching against the laminated wood interrupted his rumination.<br/>
<br/>
Levi was visiting his mother’s cafe to tell her that he had a flight later that day for a new case that Erwin assigned to him, but when he arrived, she was already entertaining another guest. Mikasa. A cousin twice removed. Another person he had dreamed about long before, and since they were sharing the same blood, she had seen him in her past life, too.<br/>
<br/>
She served under his leadership back in <em>Paradis</em> but nowadays she was working as an artist. They were supposed to discuss the murals they could add in the older corners of the shop, but Levi started zoning out when Mikasa mentioned about traveling all over the world. She said it was to see the world in a new light in contrast with the cruelty they’ve experienced before, but he knew they weren’t too different.<br/>
<br/>
Like him, she was in constant search for truth influenced by her previous incarnation. It was just that she appeared to be better at doing it than him.<br/>
<br/>
“Levi obviously wasn’t listening.” The older woman grinned apologetically, but Mikasa kept a knowing stare as if trying to egg him on, much to his chagrin.<br/>
<br/>
“Got something to say?” He snapped first. The younger Ackerman shrugged.<br/>
<br/>
“You look horrible, that’s all.” She gestured to bluntly point out the bags under his eyes. <em>How annoying.</em> Kuchel tried to suppress a laugh. “Still having nightmares?”<br/>
<br/>
“Nothing new.” He huffed at her nonchalance and raised a brow. “You don’t seem troubled.”<br/>
<br/>
“You can say that… I don’t dream anymore.” She permitted a rare smile, and Levi already had an idea of what she was going to say next even before she confirmed it. “I’ve found <em>him</em>. Eren.”<br/>
<br/>
<em>Ah, </em>he added as an afterthought, <em>that idiot.</em><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>Eren was the literal man in everyone's dreams, but for him he was the primary troublemaker. Captain Levi and that boy didn’t exactly have contentious relations, they were closely-knit comrades at one point. Nevertheless, just thinking about the events that he triggered takes years off his life. It was bewildering how one person’s choices could ripple across time that they’re still reeling from its effects. Giving Ackermans their psychic aberration was his last decision before he took everything else away. Perhaps he wanted to be found by Mikasa in the first place. They always knew Eren always favored her, too.<br/>
<br/>
However, what was more amazing was the fact that Mikasa still loved him—not the cadet, but the one sitting across the table. They were repeatedly warned against retaining feelings as they could be just influenced by their previous incarnations. Instead she had assured them time and time again that whatever sentiment she harbored was real. Of course, he would take her word for it. Levi wasn’t the type of person to get entangled with his relative’s intimate affairs.<br/>
<br/>
“Good for you. Finally unfettered from the shitty curse.” Unlike him. Levi was beginning to think that it’ll never end for him.<br/>
<br/>
“It’s <em>not</em> a curse. I was granted to have you this time around.” It was Kuchel who corrected him. “You’re just too dense to confront your emotions.”<br/>
<br/>
“Unless you acknowledge your greatest regrets, then you’ll continue to suffer.” Mikasa added in agreement, to which the man resisted to roll his eyes. They were always perceptive yet they also made sure to take pleasure in rubbing salt in his wounds.<br/>
<br/>
“Do I sense hostility here?”<br/>
<br/>
Both women chucked at his ill-conceived retort, but he will never admit how Mikasa’s last statement seemed to hit home. Greatest regrets... He couldn’t help but be reminded of his savior’s face and that <em>other</em> vivid recollection he always had.<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>The one that was among the tall trees and under the stars. The one that got him thinking, <em>we should have stayed in the damn forest.</em><br/>
<br/>
</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>***</p>
</div><p>Erwin was beside him on the plane when he jolted awake from another dream. He didn’t know when he dozed off; he probably fell asleep when he was partially listening to Oluo’s complaints from the back row about Petra and her standoffish attitude. The encounter was light and abrupt: it was about the time they found the kids under their care wasted inside a tent and how they decided to let that incident pass. A sparse fragment of happiness, he liked that among others.<br/>
<br/>
“You were dreaming.” It wasn’t a question from the other man. Levi figured he was watching him closely, which he didn’t mind.<br/>
<br/>
The man knew about many things as the director of the agency he was working for, but he also was aware of Levi’s dealings because he told him the day they got acquainted in the academy. In retrospect, he probably looked stupid at his flat-out confession, but like the commander he was in his previous iteration, Erwin always had an open mind. Always curious and ambitious. Wary, but accepting.<br/>
<br/>
More importantly, like their counterparts, trust was the main factor that pulled them together. He could practically tell him any secret and the other surely wouldn’t bat an eye.<br/>
<br/>
“Tell me about it.” He said while trying to stretch his legs out of the cramped space. “Where are we?”<br/>
<br/>
“Singapore. Just a couple of hours to our destination...” There was an awkward pause. Erwin’s piercing blue eyes had hints of humor in them, which made him suddenly wonder if he did something funny when he was unconscious.<br/>
<br/>
“Interesting. I heard you talk."<br/>
<br/>
“What <i>now</i>.”<br/>
<br/>
“In your sleep, I mean. You weren’t shouting but you kept saying a name.”<br/>
<br/>
He blinked a few times. <i>A name</i>. “Come on. Don’t put me on.”<br/>
<br/>
“I have no reason to lie.”<br/>
<br/>
The tall man quietly leaned back in his seat, fidgeting with an unconsumed bottle of water while waiting for him to respond. Levi kept his lips pressed together as tried to organize his thoughts.<br/>
<br/>
A name... He finally had a name for his savior. What are the chances he would learn about it second-hand? And in an airplane, of all places—<br/>
<br/>
<i>Wait, wait. It must mean something</i>, he thought. It happened with his Kenny; he saw his uncle in a vision hours before they got acquainted. Kuchel would always tell him about how she got chills when he cried out her estranged brother’s name before he appeared uninvited in her doorsteps. <i>Could it mean…?</i><br/>
<br/>
“Hey, Erwin... Who am I calling for?”<br/>
<br/>
The blond man stared at him as if trying to predict his reaction before conceding, “Hange.”<br/>
<br/>
Levi’s gut did a backflip upon hearing it. His savior. His beacon. He had a name to go with the face. He was partially relieved but mostly high strung about this new bit of information. How many Hanges are there in the world? Would he actively search for them so he could finally put an end to his dreams? What else does he have to do to find them?<br/>
<br/>
“Levi,” Erwin laid a hand on his shoulder to keep his brain from short-circuiting, but the way his lips curved at the corners told him that the man was not telling him everything he needed to know. 
“I’m quite certain you will have your answers soon.”<br/>
<br/>
His mouth dropped open. "What in the hell are <i>you</i> talking about?”<br/>
<br/>
He hissed and tried to press on, but the blond pretended to not hear him and instead busied himself with the small, built-in screen in front of him. Levi sank back on his seat dejectedly upon realizing he will have to find out the meaning of those words by himself.<br/>
<br/>
</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>***</p>
</div><p>
Manila’s airport was jam-packed with all sorts of tourists when they touched down, which perfectly worked for their team’s advantage.<br/>
<br/>
From the files Erwin had sent them the night before, they were tasked to track down a key figure in an international drug syndicate which involved a string of killings across Southeast Asia, the most recent one being in the Philippines. Apparently, they weren’t the first group from the agency that got sent to work on this investigation; it was just that the country couldn't allot more of their forensics resources to incidents bigger than their jurisdiction that his squad had to be specifically summoned.<br/>
<br/>
Maneuvering the crowded streets wasn’t so easy, but after a few hours spent in traffic, they finally reached the lab at the heart of the city. A guard at a kiosk at the entrance had led them through all the security checks until they were led to a windowless conference hall where they’d convene with the other team.<br/>
<br/>
“Can we actually crack this one?” Petra remarked while observing the cameras installed in the corners of the room. “I’ve heard rumors government officials are involved.”<br/>
<br/>
“Meh, it’s too early to think about that. I'm starving.” Oluo turned to Erwin with a frown. “Hey, director, we should have asked for dinner before—”<br/>
<br/>
“Pipe down, Bozard.” Eld scolded the younger detective before the latter could finish his sentence, something he excelled at doing whether in the past or the present. Levi didn’t think twice in re-assigning him as second in command as soon as he learned that he was a candidate. Some things never change for the better.<br/>
<br/>
“Just hope you’re better at your job than the ones we’ll meet or else I’d have you traded in.”<br/>
<br/>
Oluo objected by glaring and Petra chortled at his antics. Their last member, Gunther, was always the silent one but the most analytical. He settled beside Levi’s seat after going through the case files, brows furrowed as he verbalized his concerns. “This is a lot for a small team to handle, sir. You think we could gel with the other team?”<br/>
<br/>
“I can’t say anything yet.” Levi’s gaze deliberately fell to Erwin. “I think he has an idea.”<br/>
<br/>
“Hm,” The man started vaguely, a minute smile was playing up in his visage. His juniors wouldn’t know, but Erwin only behaved that way whenever he was excited over something. Levi had a strange suspicion that it was at his expense. “I <i>do</i> know the lead patho we’ll be working with.”<br/>
<br/>
“Oh.” Petra seemed to be genuinely curious, as well as the other three. Their inquisitive eyes were on the director as they waited for him to divulge more clues. On the other hand, Levi was starting to get mildly irritated.<br/>
<br/>
<i>What’s with the hold up?</i> Just as impatience was creeping up on him, he remembered Erwin’s puzzling statement during the flight (which he had forgotten momentarily as he skimmed through folders and folders of reports), and the initials affixed in every page in most of the documents he had been reviewing earlier.<br/>
<br/>
<i>HZ,</i> in heavy, confident strokes. When he managed to put two and two together, something clicked in his brain and his blood started rushing a tad faster in his veins.<br/>
<br/>
<i>No way. You gotta be kidding me. </i><br/>
<br/>
He was supposed to say something but the words got stuck in his throat when the door slid open and someone highly <i>familiar</i> walked in, someone he could recognize even with his eyes closed.<br/>
<br/>
“Sorry for the long wait,” They addressed Erwin indirectly, recognizing his stature, to which the man replied courtly. He was earnestly trying to avoid Levi's stare. “It is totally understandable. Doctor Zoë.”<br/>
<br/>
“Ah, just Hange. No need for formalities. We’re a team.” They casually offered a handshake to every member of the unit as they introduced themselves—<br/>
<br/>
And then, after an impossible eternity of holding his breath, they stopped in front of Levi.<br/>
<br/>
“Nice to meet you,” they said.<br/>
<br/>
The shiny russet eyes behind rounded spectacles connected with his, and the wide radiant smile he received made his heart twinge a little. A myriad of emotions slapped him right at that very moment, he didn’t know which to prioritize. He did try to hand out a coherent response though, but he only managed to do so after several attempts.<br/>
<br/>
He clasped the other's hand. Tightly. Uncharacteristically. As if not wanting to ever let go. Hange looked slightly surprised, but they squeezed back on his firm grasp. “The pleasure is mine,” Levi breathed out.<br/>
<br/>
He wasn’t sure if it was the old Levi in the deep recesses of his soul taking over, or if it was just him <i>him</i>. Or both. All he knew was that he meant it. He was beyond pleased to see them in person.<br/>
<br/>
He thought, maybe, his nightmares were <i>finally over</i>.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>THIS IS MULTI-CHAPTER! Can you believe it? I'm writing multi-chapter after a long while in ao3. I'm planning to have this as my NanoWriMo goal. Please stay with me. (I'm writing the 2nd and 3rd chapters but please tell me what you think. :) )</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>